


'He seems to love him, so there must be something there.'

by kingaoh



Series: Notion Drafts [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Awkward Flirting, Consort Stiles Stilinski, Derek is prince icky but with a better personality, Falling In Love, Gaslighting, Inspired by The Crown (TV), M/M, Mutual Pining, Prince Derek Hale, Stiles is princess diana, but there are only there for no reason
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 05:01:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30033438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingaoh/pseuds/kingaoh
Summary: Although looking back, he had been a little occupied with the crowds to properly look at Derek. They had been walking side by side, addressing and greeting everyone together, but Stiles couldn't recall what his face had looked like at all that afternoon. Had he been enjoying it as he had been? Or what that slight furrow of his brows a sign of frustration that Stiles had been hogging all the attention away from him?
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: Notion Drafts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2209353
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	'He seems to love him, so there must be something there.'

Up on the balcony, Stiles was still riding the high of the afternoon. He could still feel the buzz of the village crowd, hear the people calling his name and cheering for him. After weeks of loneliness spent tiptoeing around the palace, adjusting to his new role as the future prince consort of Triskelia, being thrust into a public event so soon should have been daunting. But it had felt oddly nice to meet the common folk of Triskelia and see their smiles and delight at finally seeing him. It felt good to finally do something, to move and to feel encouraged whilst doing it. To know that he was at least doing one thing right.

The balcony had a view that overlooked part of the village. Stiles watched the twinkling lights of the sleeping village, smiling as he tried to recall the face of everyone he had met and talked to. The baker and her husband who had insisted he at least smell their bread if he couldn’t taste it. The group of boys that had given him their fists to bump. The elderly couple that had ruffled his hair.

He was so lost in thought he didn’t hear when the doors to the balcony opened and the king regent entered. It wasn’t until Regent Peter cleared his throat to announce his arrival that he finally felt the cool breeze of his presence.

Trying hard not to jump, like he had been trained to, he turned around to face his future uncle-in-law. ‘Your Majesty?’

The king regent greeted him with a small smile, lifting two flutes of champagne, offering one to Stiles. Stiles accepted it as gracefully as he could, taking a sip along with Peter.

‘You seem to be in high spirits,’ the regent observed.

Stiles smiled, nodding. ‘I admit I was a bit nervous about the parade but I’m glad that everything worked out.’

‘Indeed,’ Peter agreed. ‘It was a success.’ An eye slid to Stiles, watching him from the corner of his face. ‘The people really loved you, didn’t they?’

‘Oh,’ Stiles flushed. ‘I’m afraid I don’t...’

‘It’s not your fault, don’t worry,’ the king cut in, looking straight ahead to the village’s lights. ‘You cannot control how they perceive you.’

Something about the king’s tone rubbed Stiles the wrong way. ‘Perceive me?’

‘Oh yes,’ the king nodded, ‘A commoner’s child. Raised as a farm boy in the middle of nowhere. And somehow you are betrothed to marry the crown prince,’ the regent clarified, waving a hand offhandedly. He turned, dropping his gaze to sweep Stiles’s frame before meeting his eyes. ‘And on top of that, a male omega. It’s a fairy-tale come true.’

Stiles searched the regent’s eyes, looking for what exactly he was being accused of doing. As far as he was concerned, all he had done was smile and shake a few people’s hands. The regent stares back at him with cold eyes. ‘I wasn’t expecting that huge of a reaction today. Not from the public, at least.’

‘Oh,’ Stiles blinked.

Was that it?

Trying hard not to sound too defensive, Stiles shrugged. ‘The crowds were slightly daunting, but they were expected, surely.’

Admittedly, the size of the crowds had been incredible. His team had tried their best to prepare him from the sheer shock of it, but Stiles doubted he could ever get used to it. The people filled the streets, packed like canned sardines, almost as if it was the entire kingdom that had showed up, not just the village closest to the Hale Palace.

Stiles hadn’t gone in blind. He knew there was a certain appeal of meeting royalty, seeing the very people that ruled them. It wasn’t often that those sorts of things happened, the royals being busy with their royal duties and all, so it was always a big thing when the royal palace dedicated an entire afternoon to the villagers.

Stiles remembered the one time he had been part of a smaller crowd, years ago when he was just ten years young. It hadn’t made much sense as to why the queen of all people was making rounds in the east of Triskelia, where there was nothing but barren crops and struggling farms. But she had been there, along with her only son, and it had been the first time Stiles had ever seen the royal family.

He knew nothing about them, not even their names, or what it was exactly that they did, but as he watched them walk through the crowds, dressed in all their regality, he had just simply understood that these people weren’t just ordinary people.

‘The problem with you, Stiles, is that you constantly negate the influence of the royal family down to the crowns they wear on their head.’ Peter stated, suddenly. Stiles started, looking back with wild eyes. ‘There is so much more to the public than you realise. Triskelia might be ruled by the Hale family, but the people are the ones that placed us in that position.’

The regent grew silent, a foreboding expression crossing his face as he downed the entirety of his champagne. he sighed. ‘I assume they didn’t tell you because it would be bad etiquette to slander your own fiancé in front of you.’

‘... Slander?’

‘It’s not exactly a secret that my nephew isn’t the most popular around.’

The king’s nephew. Crown Prince Derek Hale of Triskelia, the rightful heir of the throne which he would inherit in a month.

Stiles’s betrothed.

They had been betrothed to each other, ever since that very same visit to the Eastern farms. The day that Stiles found out that his sheltered life had been mostly a lie hidden from him from birth. As it had turned out, his mother and father were closely linked to an allied kingdom, his mother being the direct half-sister to the Nogitsune Royal family’s king. The princess had fled from home eager to escape the stifling bore of duties, to marry a farmer. For years, they had been happily living hidden away in the forgotten east of Triskelia.

It wasn’t until political turmoil shook the kingdom of Nogistune, and the allied relationship between Triskelia and Nogitsune was brought into question. Neither of the kingdoms had been willing to break off their mutually benefitting relationship, and a solution had been settled privately. His mother, unfortunately gone by then, got the short end of the stick, being the only one with an eligible child, and it was decided that her title as princess would return to her and her only son would be promised to the heir of the Triskelian throne.

Crown Princess Laura, five years his senior. Three years later, that changed to Crown Prince Derek, three years older.

Stiles’s life did not change much. Despite his newfound lineage, Stiles was brought up on a farm and kept away from nobility to pay respect to his dead mother’s wishes until he became of age. He did have a governor to tutor him on procedures and rules and he visited Nogitsune at least twice a year, just to meet his family.

As for his betrothed, he had only ever seen the prince a handful of times. Out of those few times, he had talked to him even less. Their very first official meeting had only been three months ago. It wasn’t a lot to form a reliable opinion on the prince’s character, but yet, it had been enough to be utterly smitten and charmed.

Sure, the crown prince was quiet to a fault and often preferred solitude over social interaction. And to strangers, his face looked like he was constantly scowling. But his eyes spoke volumes of the kindness behind his every action. He was charming, well-mannered and polite. He always seemed to listen to whatever nonsense Stiles had to say, and he never outright acted like he disliked Stiles.

(Not to mention he was also very handsome, with a body fit for his status as an Alpha.)

Perhaps, he might not be as outgoing and exuberant as the memory of Laura that still lived in the people, but there wasn’t anything that gave Prince Derek a reason to be unfavourable.

Stiles said so as much, frowning at the regent, but the regent only scoffed.

‘On paper, I agree that there is nothing about Derek that feels improper,’ he sighed. ‘But now that the date approaches that Derek takes the crown off of me, the rumours in the streets have become slightly damaging.’

The regent grimaced. ‘This is hard to say, but there’s been talk that… the fire... that prematurely took the lives of my entire family, save for the prince, might not have been an accident.’

Stiles froze. ‘What?’

’There are speculations that - ‘

‘That’s total bullshit!’ Stiles cried, unable to stop it. His heart squeezed painfully at the thought. ‘That’s horrible. Who would even suggest that?’

‘They are lies obviously fabricated by stupid politicians who seek to remove the monarchy completely,’ Peter snarled. ‘It wouldn’t be the first time the Argents sought to implement democracy in Triskelia.’ The regent’s face grew dark. ‘But this time, it might be working.’

‘Working?’ Stiles swallowed. ‘How so?’

‘The people don’t care about Derek,’ Peter said. ‘And the Argents know it. It’s only a matter of time before they start poisoning the public with ideas about Derek’s ineptitude as a king and the next thing we’ll know, the people want the monarchy dismantled. Do you understand it now? It’s the duty of the royal palace to maintain out image at all costs.’

A thought suddenly struck Stiles. ‘The parade this afternoon…’

‘.. was a plan we set in motion to place Derek back into the eyes of the people. The tours, the outings, the parade this afternoon. These were designed with Derek in mind.’ The king sniffed. ‘But if anyone saw the spectacle of today, they would have thought this afternoon was planned for you.’

Stiles swallowed. ‘Oh.’

‘Congratulations,’ the regent supplied, coldly. ‘You’ve caused quite the stir.’

_And it's driven the gaze from Derek to you._

Stiles stared down at his shoes, the familiar sensation of having done something wrong quickly overtaking again. Any buzz from the afternoon had long been replaced with the aftertaste of champagne, strange and weirdly disconcerting, a reminder of how much he didn't fit around here, no matter how much he tried.

All Stiles remembered doing was smiling and greeting people, laughing at whatever stories they threw at him. Although looking back, he had been a little occupied with the crowds to properly look at Derek. They had been walking side by side, addressing and greeting everyone together, but Stiles couldn't recall what his face had looked like at all that afternoon. Had he been enjoying it as he had been? Or what that slight furrow of his brows a sign of frustration that Stiles had been hogging all the attention away from him?

With a small tone, Stiles tried to explain himself, suddenly grateful that he still had his scent blockers concealing his distress. 'I was only trying to do a good job.'

The king observed him for a while, looking for something in his face before sighing loudly. He lifted a hand to rest on Stiles's shoulder. 'The trouble is that wasn't your job to do. Your job is to marry him, be his husband. To support him and give him what he needs. Frankly, I doubt that your real job has even started yet. So, stop trying to outdo a duty that isn't required of you.'

'I-,' Stiles started, feeling properly chastened. 'I apologize.'

The king smiled, shaking his shoulder. 'There is nothing to apologise for, Stiles. You couldn't have known. We should have explained it better. The only thing to do now is to move forward.' 

Peter dropped his hand, nodding to mark the end of the conversation. He paused at the door on his way out. 'They have organised a ball tomorrow to officially kick off Derek's tour of the kingdom. Please use this opportunity to fix your mistakes.'

**Author's Note:**

> hope you like this beginning. kudos and comments are always loved!


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